“Aye, all is at the ready. The priest will perform the ceremony on the morrow.”
“Excellent.” The earl rubbed his hands together, apparently very pleased. “Now all that is left to do is sign the marriage contracts. If you can arrange a chamber for my daughter, we can get down to business.”
Forwin gave Jacqueline one last licentious glance, then clapped his hands. A young servant girl entered the hall a second later.
“Alice, take the Lady Jacqueline to her chamber.”
Meekly, the girl nodded, then not waiting to see if Jacqueline followed, she crossed the hall to the stairway. Quite happy to be out of Forwin’s presence, Jacqueline hurried to catch up.
The chamber was sumptuously appointed. A beautifully crafted writing desk was placed beneath the only window set high in one of the walls. The bed sat upon a raised dais. Its hangings were heavy velvet, colored dusty-rose. A matching cover was spread across the mattress.
The mental picture of what could possibly happen in that bed caused Jacqueline to shiver. If Forwin tried to consummate their marriage, she would fight him to the bitter end.
After making a full circle around the chamber, Jacqueline walked back to the waiting Alice. The young servant girl kept her gaze downcast. She was young. She seemed no older than three and ten, if that. Her fine brown hair was pulled back in a single braid, which fell to her waist. Her brown serviceable gown was made from homespun and looked as if it had been made for a much larger woman. It hung on her frame so loosely there was no way to determine the shape of her body.
The girl would not acknowledge her presence. Jacqueline asked, “Your name is Alice?”
Startled, the servant girl jumped at the sound of her voice, which did not go unnoticed by Jacqueline. “Aye, my lady.”
“What are your duties in the castle?”
Still keeping her eyes adverted, Alice answered, “I used to work in the kitchen, but now I am to be your maid. If you find me acceptable.”
There was a slight tremor in the girl’s voice when she had spoken. It was not hard to guess what would befall Alice if she was found unworthy.
Thinking it best to lay the girl’s fears to rest, Jacqueline said, “I will not reject you as my maid. It will be a learning experience for the both of us. You see, I have always made do for myself.”
Alice lifted her gaze to meet Jacqueline’s. Her eyes were hazel. “Thank you, my lady.”
Jacqueline smiled and received a timid smile in return. She had an ally now in the form of this young girl. She would not have to be totally alone, after all.
* * * *
As dawn broke over the horizon, it heralded the end of her freedom. For after the short ceremony that would be performed in the chapel, she would no longer be her own woman. She would be classed as chattel, a possession Forwin owned and could use as he saw fit. The thought sickened her.
A soft tapping on the chamber door forced Jacqueline to come to grips with what would happen to her this day. She sat up in bed and bade the person on the other side to enter.
Alice walked into her chamber with the gown her mother had made for her marriage to Terric. The servant girl had taken it away the evening before. She obviously had cleaned it.
“Time to get up, my lady. Your father will come for you soon. He bade me to tell you to wear this gown again.”
Jacqueline easily guessed the motive behind his request. What better way to remind her of all she had lost? He hoped to hurt her, make it a punishment for choosing to live her life as she wanted. He failed, though. It would not hurt her to wear the gown. It would be her cross to bear. Her penance for writing all those hurtful words to Terric.
During the long night she had done a lot of thinking. It was her words that had pushed Terric from her. He had not seen past them, had not trusted her enough to call them false. Now she had to pay the price by being locked in a loveless marriage to a man she detested.
Accepting the inevitable, Jacqueline arose and let Alice help her prepare for her wedding. There was no feeling of joy as there had been when she was to have wed Terric. If it had been possible, she would have worn mourning clothes.
After her father came to fetch her, the rest of the day’s happenings seemed to blur and run together.
During the ceremony, she stood beside Forwin and dutifully repeated her vows, not really paying close attention to the words. The feel of him sliding his ring upon her finger caused her a moment of clarity before she receded back into herself.
The wedding feast was a very small affair. The people present were Jacqueline, Forwin, and the earl. Forwin had no living family and was the last of his line. If, at his death, he produced no heir, his title and lands would revert back to the crown, hence, his need for a new wife after the death of each of the previous ones. He had tried to produce that elusive heir again and again.
The meal complete, Forwin summoned Alice to escort Jacqueline to her chamber. Jacqueline knew what was to come. With leaden feet, she followed the younger girl up the stairs, feeling as if she walked to her execution.
After helping Jacqueline remove her gown, Alice put her into bed and then left, leaving Jacqueline alone await her fate. She prayed it would be over swiftly.
Chapter Fifteen
The roar of the crowd echoed in Terric’s ears. He let the sound wash over him. With a kick of his heels, he set his steed into motion. He barreled down the list, then had the satisfaction of his lance hitting his opponent’s shield.
A loud clang came behind him. Terric peered over his shoulder to find the knight he rode against lying in the dust on his back. That would be another ransom he would collect this day. Having faced his last challenger, Terric headed to his pavilion. Edwin had run ahead and awaited him there.
Terric stepped into his pavilion. He gratefully unlaced his helm and pulled it free. He reached up and wiped the sweat from his brow. He noticed the cloaked figure of a woman who watched him. The hood of her cloak was pulled up over her head, shielding her face from view. An instant of excitement shot through him as he thought it was Jacqueline, but he soon realized this woman was not tall enough for it to be her.
“Whoever you are, leave.” He turned his back on the woman and unbuckled his armor.
“I have no intention of leaving until you have listened to what I have to say.”
Terric jerked back around as the woman pulled off the hood she wore and revealed her face. He shook his head in amazement. “Why am I not surprised?”
Beth closed the short distance between them. “You never gave me a chance to speak before you left Carisbrooke. I do not give up so easily.”
“Obviously. What do you want from me?”
“For you to listen to me. That is all.”
Terric threw back his head and groaned, then stared back at her. “There is nothing you can say that will change how I feel about Jacqueline. She made her choice.”
“In that assumption, I think you are wrong. Jacqueline loves you. She told me so herself.”
Terric intently searched Beth’s face. Her expression said she meant every word she had spoken. “I once thought she did, but I am not so sure of that anymore.”
“She does, I know it. Jacqueline looked at you the way I looked at William. I loved him with all my heart. Do not turn from her. You could come to regret this decision later.”
“How do you explain the words she wrote?”
Pleadingly, Beth said, “You have to see past them as I did. She wrote them to protect you. To keep you away from something.”
“To protect me from what?”
“Not a what, but a who. I believe the earl will be found at the bottom of all this. It bears his stench.”
“I thought he had no idea it was Jacqueline in London.”
“As far as we knew he did not, but that does not mean we were right. He is quite capable of letting us go on with our plans, all the while knowing the truth. Then at an opportune moment, he used it against us.”
It was true, Ter
ric realized. What he had seen and heard of the earl was not very awe-inspiring. The man was a snake, using all within his power to further his own gains. What Beth suggested could quite possibly have happened to Jacqueline. It was not too hard to believe.
If that was what really had happened to her, then he had already made a grave mistake. He had abandoned the woman he loved to the clutches of a man who could make her life unbearable.
“Will you help us look for her?” Beth asked.
Terric nodded. “Aye, you have convinced me. I can only hope when we find Jacqueline she forgives my stupidity.”
* * * *
This trip to Carisbrooke Castle Terric faced with mixed emotions. Besides being the place where he’d last had seen Jacqueline and what had happened on what was to have been their wedding day, he felt some misgivings about seeing Lady Elizabeth. She had believed in him, and he had let her down.
He peered at Lady Beth, who rode next to him, and found her watching him while a slight smiled played upon her lips. The two men-at-arms who had accompanied her rode a short distance behind them.
“What?”
Beth shook her head. “I can practically hear you berating yourself. Stop it. You were hurting. You took what you felt was the correct course of action.”
Terric grunted. “You mean I let my pride get the better of me and I ran away.”
“That is not what I meant.”
“I only wish I had listened to you that day. Jacqueline would be at Carisbrooke now.”
“There is no point beating yourself up about it, Terric. You made a mistake, but you can redeem yourself.”
Edwin, who rode directly behind them, broke into the conversation. “You tell him, Lady Beth. I am sick and tired of his moping about.”
Terric turned in his saddle and shot Edwin a quelling look. “That will be enough out of you.”
Edwin chose to ignore the warning and edged his horse between Terric and Beth. “I told him we should return to Carisbrooke, but he would not listen to me.”
Having heard enough of his squire’s criticisms, Terric let his horse slowly fall back from the other two. With Edwin still off on his ranting, Terric gathered up his reins and slapped his squire’s horse on the rump.
The horse shot off as if all the demons from hell nipped at its heels. The look on Edwin’s face was quite comical. He had been in mid-sentence when his mount took off at a gallop. One moment he conversed with Beth, then the next he hollered as his horse shot down the road.
Terric moved his horse back up alongside Beth and smugly smiled. She wagged a finger at him. “Naughty, naughty, Terric.”
“He had it coming. I did give him fair warning.”
Beth laughed, then looked up the road. Edwin’s horse was still in mad flight. “Should you not help him?”
“Nay.” Terric said. “Trying to bring his mount back under control will keep him from wagging his tongue. Plus, it gives me a chance to speak to you alone.”
“Well, you have me all to yourself. For the moment, at least.”
“I just thought I would ask if Lady Elizabeth is upset with me. She has every right to be.”
Beth reached over and reassuringly patted Terric’s hand. “That is not the case at all. She will be most pleased at your return.”
Terric breathed a sigh of relief. “I have much respect for that lady. I would not like to displease her.”
They broke off their conversation as Edwin came pounding back down the road toward them. He seemed completely flustered and out of sorts. He pulled up in front of them and shot Terric a disgusted look.
“What is wrong, Edwin? All not well with your mount?” Terric asked nonchalantly.
“As if you had nothing to do with it,” Edwin replied with a sneer.
Beth interrupted. “Edwin, why do you not ride on my other side? That way you will be safe from Terric. I suggest you be a little more circumspect with your comments.”
Properly chastised, Edwin nodded and moved to where Beth indicated. The rest of the day he wisely kept his mouth shut.
* * * *
The following day they arrived at Carisbrooke. Terric felt as if he had come home—something he would not have expected. All the time he had spent there had not added up to much.
Sir Guy, who had been up on the castle walls, must have noticed their arrival and met them in the bailey. He hurriedly helped Beth dismount. “I see your quest was a successful one, lass.” He gaze rested pointedly on Terric.
“Aye, very. It did take some doing to convince him, though. Now he is calling himself three times a fool for not thinking of it on his own. See to them and I will inform Lady Elizabeth of Terric’s arrival.”
Terric took up his mount’s reins and led it to the stables. “So the time of reckoning has arrived.”
Sir Guy chuckled. “Nay, lad, more like a time for rejoicing. My lady will be most pleased. Let us get these horses bedded down. We should not keep the ladies waiting.”
* * * *
Sir Guy, Terric, and Edwin sipped from tankards of ale when the two women descended from the solar.
Coming to greet her guests, Lady Elizabeth gave Terric, and the startled Edwin, a kiss of peace on the cheeks. “I am so glad to see the both of you again.”
Terric found himself deeply touched by the warm welcome. “As I am to see you once more, my lady. I just wish it was for better reasons that I returned.”
“Nonsense,” Lady Elizabeth said. “You being here gives me renewed hope. You will give us the added advantage we need to discover Jacqueline’s whereabouts.”
“That is my hope.”
“I know so. You can go where we cannot. Finding where the earl is should be our first priority. Tournaments will be the perfect place for you to ascertain where to locate him as they are always rife with court gossip.”
Terric nodded. “The next tournament is in a few days. I can start searching for the earl then.”
While they spoke, the servants had laid out a light midday repast. Lady Elizabeth brought the conversation to a close. “I suggest you take advantage of your few days of respite from the list and rest.” She motioned them toward the trestle table. “Now let us enjoy this meal. There will be time enough later to make all the necessary plans.”
Allowing Lady Elizabeth to link her arm through his, Terric let himself be led to the table.
* * * *
Nunney Castle was built in the small Somerset village of Nunney some three miles south-west from the market town of Frome. From Sir Guy’s teachings, Jacqueline knew the castle was designed in a French style rather than solely for defensive purposes. A tall four-story rectangular structure with large corner turrets surrounded by a moat made up the castle form. The moat was known for being one of the deepest ever made, which was a landmark for the castle as Carisbrooke’s deep well was to it. As such, they had deemed it unnecessary to have a portcullis.
Jacqueline had been living at Nunney for a month. Surprisingly, she settled into her new life. She found she had a talent for the running of such a large household. Not all of her mother’s lessons had fallen on deaf ears, or so it would seem.
Since her father’s departure the morning after her marriage, she had been virtually left to her own devices. Her husband had nothing to do with her.
The wedding night she had so dreaded ended up being very uneventful. Forwin had not come to her chamber that night, or any since. For a man who had only married her so she could provide him with an heir, he was set on avoiding her. He kept to his chamber, even taking all his meals there.
On this morn Jacqueline walked to the ground floor where the kitchen was located. It was what she did every day. Not wanting to take her meals alone in the hall, she ate in the kitchen.
At first, the servants had been aghast that the countess would lower herself in such a way, but Jacqueline soon won them over. At Carisbrooke, she had never used her station in life to belittle those beneath her. Once the servants at Nunney realized she only wished to have
their friendship, they readily welcomed her into their fold.
After reaching the kitchen, Jacqueline stood at the threshold and watched the bustling activity. The thirteen-foot fireplace was already roaring, heating the wall ovens beside it. Cook would have been awake for hours, preparing the bread to be baked for the day.
Jacqueline stepped into the warm room and took a deep breath, smelling the scent of fresh-baked bread. The cook, Mabel, was a large woman of middle years. She managed a well-run kitchen. Today, she had all those who worked under her moving at a brisk pace, which was not usually the norm.
“Mabel, why this flurry of activity?”
Mabel looked up from the worktable where she busily chopped vegetables and smiled warmly. “Your lord husband sent word down this morn. He is expecting a visitor. He wants a grand feast made for the evening meal.”
Jacqueline was a little dismayed that Forwin expected a guest. He would, of course, be leaving his chamber now. “It must be someone important for him to order a feast.”
Mabel snorted disgustedly. “Not likely. It is just a minstrel my lord has here to entertain him. He comes once a month. If you ask me, he is received better than a minstrel should, but my lord will have it no other way.”
Intrigued, Jacqueline asked, “How long has this minstrel been coming here?”
“Ever since my lord’s last wife passed. It must be four years.”
Jacqueline pulled a stool up to the worktable and accepted the plate of bread and cheese Mabel handed her. Lost in thought, she started to eat.
When a minstrel arrived at a castle, it was usually marked as a festive occasion. Visits could be few and far between, but to have the same one come to a castle once a month was far from the norm. Jacqueline had to wonder if there was more to this visit than just a minstrel coming to entertain the lord of the castle. This evening could very well prove interesting.
* * * *
Knight of Her Life Page 13
